01 February 2012

Ceci CrackerChips (Grain Free!)

A couple weeks ago, I was making some crunchy, oven toasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans), and it got me thinking. If chickpeas toast up so nice and crunchy in their natural state, why couldn't they do the same perhaps flattened into a chip or cracker shape?

I decided to find out.

Gluten Free, Grain Free SUCCESS!!!

It worked! The result was a light, flaky cracker/chip with a delicate flavor that is grain free and only FOUR ingredients. They're not quite sturdy enough for heavy dips. I suppose I could work on that, but I really liked the lighter consistency. I also didn't want to load them up with a lot of extra ingredients and binders.

Despite not being a "dipping chip", they can still handle a nice spread of hummus1, a slice of Rice Vegan cheeze or my soy free, nut free, gluten free Cheeze Dip (I'll be sharing that next!!!).

Of course, you can munch them unadorned as well. They're absolutely delicious as a simple sea salt cracker, but they also lend themselves perfectly to other flavor additions and combinations.

In a food processor or high-powered blender combine chickpeas, olive oil, 1T of water, and salt. Process into a smooth paste.
This may require a bit of patience. Try to avoid the instinct to add extra liquid, but if you really need a bit of help getting the mixture really smooth, gradually add a bit of extra water, one Tablespoon at a time (don't exceed 4T), until the mixture becomes smooth. The result should be like a very very thick, but smooth, hummus.

I chose to add tapioca starch to help bind the crackers a bit, but you can omit this, if you prefer. However, if you jumped the gun a bit with the water, and it seems like your mixture is too "runny", don't despair! Go ahead, and add the tapioca. It will take care of the extra liquid.

Once your chickpea "batter" is ready, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spoon a heaping teaspoon (measuring teaspoon!) of batter onto the parchment. With the back side of the spoon, use a circular motion to gently press/spread the batter into 1/4' thick, silver dollar-sized (2 inch diameter) discs.
Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Bake in a preheated oven for 60-75 minutes, carefully flipping each cracker halfway through baking.
The crackers are ready when they are crisp throughout.

Serve with your favorite toppings, or enjoy as is!

It's also fun to make other flavors. I made this batch using my homemade rosemary-garlic infused olive oil - so so good! You can also just add some rosemary and a bit of garlic to the chickpeas before blending.

The only recommendation I would make would be to not add too much of a "chunky" ingredient. It could make for a cracker that doesn't hold together as well.

Have fun and enjoy!

1. If you want to go maximum chickpea. You could also make a nice raw zucchini hummus :-)2. Ceci (Ital.) = Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans 3. I know I'm all over the place here, but I keep wanting to cover all bases for those who prefer one term over the other - Chickpeas...Garbanzo Beans